Giulia Festa - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Giulia Festa

Research paper thumbnail of Probing Our Heritage with Neutrons—One Successful Story

Probing Our Heritage with Neutrons—One Successful Story

Neutron scattering applications and techniques, Dec 16, 2016

Probing our heritage reminds us of a variety of issues in Heritage Science: from the correct dete... more Probing our heritage reminds us of a variety of issues in Heritage Science: from the correct determination of historical and cultural time-frame of artefacts, to their location and method of production, to the choice of best treatments and environmental conditions for their restoration. A large variety of chemical, physical and microstructural techniques are employed by Museums and art experts to characterize objects of cultural significance. Most of these methods are invasive and probes like X-rays and charged particles have limited penetration power. Neutrons penetrate thick layers, depending on their energy, without substantial attenuation, a quality which makes them ideal to study and visualize the interior (bulk) properties of materials in a totally non-destructive and non-invasive way. The high sensitivity to specific light elements (e.g. H) is an additional special property of the neutron probe. Neutron techniques are increasingly used for the quantitative, non-invasive analysis of many aspects of cultural heritage preservation in a broad sense: museum collections, artefacts, books, manuscripts, musical instruments, archaeological findings.

Research paper thumbnail of At the origin of Neanderthals and modern humans - Cerebral complexity and encephalization

The increase of brain dimensions and complexity has characterized the evolution of the genus Homo... more The increase of brain dimensions and complexity has characterized the evolution of the genus Homo. According to the available fossil and genetic evidence, a crucial stage came before the divergence of Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo sapiens, during the Middle Pleistocene. We consider a specimen of about 400 ka, whose phenotype is at the roots of this divergence: Ceprano calvarium (Italy). Here, we show a derived cerebrovascular organization with a mosaic of modern human and primitive features characteristics. Computed microtomography shows vascular variation and ontogenetic defects associated with ventricular and lymphatic involvement while phylogenetic analyzes highlight a dysregulation of the Tet1 gene that shows an accelerated mutation rate between 1.2 Ma and 466 ka, in contrast with the expected neutral evolution of the human genome. These results shed light on the dynamics of cranio-cerebral growth during the encephalization process and on the cerebral vascular and lymphatic ...

Research paper thumbnail of SiO2 Nanoparticles as New Repairing Treatments toward the Pietraforte Sandstone in Florence Renaissance Buildings

Crystals

In this work, the consolidation efficiency of SiO2 nanoparticles (synthesized in the Chemistry la... more In this work, the consolidation efficiency of SiO2 nanoparticles (synthesized in the Chemistry laboratories at the Tor Vergata University of Roma) was tested on Pietraforte sandstone surfaces belonging to the bell tower of San Lorenzo (Florence, Italy) and was fully investigated. Nanoparticles (synthesized in large-scale mass production) have been characterized by XRD—X-Ray Diffraction; Raman and FTIR—Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy; SEM—Scanning Electron Microscopy; while the Pietraforte sandstone morphology was examined by Porosimetry, capillary absorption test, surface hardness test, drilling resistance and tensile strength. The colorimetric measurements were also performed to characterize the optical modification exhibited by Pietraforte sandstones, especially after the SiO2 treatments. Our results show that applying to the Pietraforte, the new consolidating agent based on SiO2 nanoparticles, has several advantages, as they are more resistant to perforation, wear, and ab...

Research paper thumbnail of Problemi di Fisica Generale

Problemi di Fisica Generale

Research paper thumbnail of Monte Carlo simulations of bi-parametric Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis for imaging of Cultural Heritage artefacts

Monte Carlo simulations of bi-parametric Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis for imaging of Cultural Heritage artefacts

Research paper thumbnail of A Photoneutron source at the Daϕne Beam Test Facility of the INFN National Laboratories in Frascati: design and first experimental results

Physics Procedia, 2012

A pulsed neutron source has been realized at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of the National Laborat... more A pulsed neutron source has been realized at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of the National Laboratory of Frascati, near Rome (Italy). Neutrons are produced sending high energy (510 MeV) electrons to impinge on an optimized Tungsten target. This kind of source produces neutrons with an energy spectrum that spans over more than 9 decades of energy (from few meV up to hundred of MeV), even if most of them have energy around 1 MeV. This source may be suitable for calibrating neutron sensitive devices with response in the MeV region, as well as it could be effectively used for material and nuclear science investigations. Neutron and photon rates and their spectra have been measured along well designed extraction lines, by using a Bonner Sphere Spectrometer (BSS). This works describes the experimental apparatus used to produce neutrons and the first experimental results: measured neutron and photon fluences are compared with Monte Carlo predictions performed with FLUKA and MCNPX, respectively.

Research paper thumbnail of Neutrons Unveil Secrets of Musical Instruments

Neutron scattering applications and techniques, Dec 16, 2016

Ancient musical instruments are complex objects constructed in the past with the aim of obtaining... more Ancient musical instruments are complex objects constructed in the past with the aim of obtaining the best sound quality. Construction parameters change during time according to the aesthetics of the historical period and required sonic/musical features. Musical instruments are mostly made of wood, metals and hide. Neutron based methods such as diffraction, radiography and tomography can be used to study musical instruments providing a link between different disciplines including nuclear physics, metallurgy, cultural heritage and acoustics.

Research paper thumbnail of Neutron Imaging and Learning Algorithms: New Perspectives in Cultural Heritage Applications

Journal of Imaging

Recently, learning algorithms such as Convolutional Neural Networks have been successfully applie... more Recently, learning algorithms such as Convolutional Neural Networks have been successfully applied in different stages of data processing from the acquisition to the data analysis in the imaging context. The aim of these algorithms is the dimensionality of data reduction and the computational effort, to find benchmarks and extract features, to improve the resolution, and reproducibility performances of the imaging data. Currently, no Neutron Imaging combined with learning algorithms was applied on cultural heritage domain, but future applications could help to solve challenges of this research field. Here, a review of pioneering works to exploit the use of Machine Learning and Deep Learning models applied to X-ray imaging and Neutron Imaging data processing is reported, spanning from biomedicine, microbiology, and materials science to give new perspectives on future cultural heritage applications.

Research paper thumbnail of X-ray computed tomography to study archaeological clay and wood artefacts at Lilybaeum

X-ray computed tomography to study archaeological clay and wood artefacts at Lilybaeum

The European Physical Journal Plus, 2021

Since 2018, a scientific research project, the “Lilybaeum Project”, is being carried out by a col... more Since 2018, a scientific research project, the “Lilybaeum Project”, is being carried out by a collaboration of physicists and archaeologists. The goal is to apply forefront analysis techniques to the investigation of archaeological artefacts, both in situ and in the laboratory. The first case study presented in this paper concerns the original investigation through X-ray computed tomography of a collection of objects from the Regional Archaeological Museum of Lilybaeum, in Marsala, Italy. In addition to a very significant collection of clay jars mostly from children’s graves of the ancient Lilybaeum necropolis, an unprecedented analysis of wooden planks belonging to the only existing wreck of a Punic Ship kept in the Museum is presented

Research paper thumbnail of Chemometric Tools to Point Out Benchmarks and Chromophores in Pigments through Spectroscopic Data Analyses

Molecules, 2021

Spectral preprocessing data and chemometric tools are analytical methods widely applied in severa... more Spectral preprocessing data and chemometric tools are analytical methods widely applied in several scientific contexts i.e., in archaeometric applications. A systematic classification of natural powdered pigments of organic and inorganic nature through Principal Component Analysis with a multi-instruments spectroscopic study is presented here. The methodology allows the access to elementary and molecular unique benchmarks to guide and speed up the identification of an unknown pigment and its recipe. This study is conducted on a set of 48 powdered pigments and tested on a real-case sample from the wall painting in S. Maria Delle Palate di Tusa (Messina, Italy). Four spectroscopic techniques (X-ray Fluorescence, Raman, Attenuated Total Reflectance and Total Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopies) and six different spectrometers are tested to evaluate the impact of different setups. The novelty of the work is to use a systematic approach on this initial dataset using the entire spectrosco...

Research paper thumbnail of Gamma background characterization on VESUVIO: before and after the moderator upgrade

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2018

The VESUVIO spectrometer at the ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source is a unique instrument which ... more The VESUVIO spectrometer at the ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source is a unique instrument which makes use of eV neutrons and inverted geometry, allowing deep inelastic neutron scattering experiments with high values of energy and wavevector transfers. The neutron detection techniques on the VESUVIO forward-scattering detector banks is based on (n,γ) conversion, therefore neutrons are indirectly detected and the signals produced by scattered neutrons, accordingly the photons, is recorded using gamma scintillators. The use of γ-sensitive detectors make γ-background one of the main limiting factors affecting the data quality and instrument sensitivity on VESUVIO. This work aims to assess how the sampleindependent gamma background has changed after the recent upgrades to the water moderator viewed by the instrument, which resulted in a twofold increase of the thermal neutron flux. Here we show that the gamma background is mainly influenced by the thermal neutron flux and that the recent upgrade results in a fivefold increase in the gamma background in the photon energy range 300 keV-3 MeV. We point out the possibility of providing a thermal-neutron filter along the incident beam in order to suppress this background source.

Research paper thumbnail of A neutron study of sealed pottery from the grave-goods of Kha and Merit

A neutron study of sealed pottery from the grave-goods of Kha and Merit

Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 2017

This work presents the first neutron characterization of artefacts from the grave-goods of Kha an... more This work presents the first neutron characterization of artefacts from the grave-goods of Kha and Merit, a unique cultural treasure of mankind and preserved at the Museo Egizio in Turin.

Research paper thumbnail of Virtual unrolling and deciphering of Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast tomography

Scientific Reports, 2016

A collection of more than 1800 carbonized papyri, discovered in the Roman ‘Villa dei Papiri’ at H... more A collection of more than 1800 carbonized papyri, discovered in the Roman ‘Villa dei Papiri’ at Herculaneum is the unique classical library survived from antiquity. These papyri were charred during 79 A.D. Vesuvius eruption, a circumstance which providentially preserved them until now. This magnificent collection contains an impressive amount of treatises by Greek philosophers and, especially, Philodemus of Gadara, an Epicurean thinker of 1st century BC. We read many portions of text hidden inside carbonized Herculaneum papyri using enhanced X-ray phase-contrast tomography non-destructive technique and a new set of numerical algorithms for ‘virtual-unrolling’. Our success lies in revealing the largest portion of Greek text ever detected so far inside unopened scrolls, with unprecedented spatial resolution and contrast, all without damaging these precious historical manuscripts. Parts of text have been decoded and the ‘voice’ of the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus is brought back ag...

Research paper thumbnail of Vibrational spectroscopy to study ancient Roman funerary practices at the “Hypogeum of the Garlands” (Italy)

Scientific Reports, 2022

The “Hypogeum of the Garlands” is a sepulchral site, recently found in Grottaferrata (Lazio, Ital... more The “Hypogeum of the Garlands” is a sepulchral site, recently found in Grottaferrata (Lazio, Italy), dating back to the first-second century AD. Two sarcophagi were discovered inside, hosting the human remains of Aebutia Quarta, a rich Roman woman, and her son Carvilius Gemellus. While the body of Carvilius is exceptionally well-preserved, following its embalming and perfect sealing of the sarcophagus, in the case of Aebutia only the bones were preserved because of the sarcophagus’s seal breaking down, although she was covered with perfectly preserved flower garlands. Embalming of the body was a rare ritual in the Imperial Roman times when corpses were more often cremated. The remains of Aebutia showed possible traces of heating. Burned bones from a third individual were discovered on the chamber’s floor and preliminary anthropological survey showed that this individual was a male of 40–50 years old. Here, a combination of spectroscopic techniques, including non-destructive inelasti...

Research paper thumbnail of Neutrons Matter – VII International Workshop on Electron-Volt Neutron Spectroscopy

Research paper thumbnail of Neutron Diffraction and (n, γ)-Based Techniques for Cultural Heritage

Neutron Diffraction and (n, γ)-Based Techniques for Cultural Heritage

Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials for Diagnostic, Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, 2019

Abstract Neutron techniques are successfully employed as investigation tools in the field of cult... more Abstract Neutron techniques are successfully employed as investigation tools in the field of cultural heritage. Thanks to their interaction processes with matter, neutrons are an effective noninvasive and nondestructive means for phase, internal morphology, elemental and isotopic characterization, and offer unique capabilities. Neutrons are a penetrating probe for bulk analysis of heavy elements such as metals, ceramics, and stones where object thickness can even be in the order of many centimeters. This chapter focuses on the application of neutron diffraction neutron activation analysis prompt gamma activation analysis, and neutron resonance capture analysis and their application in cultural heritage studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Neutrons Unveil Secrets of Musical Instruments

Neutron Methods for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 2016

Ancient musical instruments are complex objects constructed in the past with the aim of obtaining... more Ancient musical instruments are complex objects constructed in the past with the aim of obtaining the best sound quality. Construction parameters change during time according to the aesthetics of the historical period and required sonic/musical features. Musical instruments are mostly made of wood, metals and hide. Neutron based methods such as diffraction, radiography and tomography can be used to study musical instruments providing a link between different disciplines including nuclear physics, metallurgy, cultural heritage and acoustics.

Research paper thumbnail of Neutron tomography reveals lead cores in Late Bronze Age palstaves at ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source

Neutron tomography reveals lead cores in Late Bronze Age palstaves at ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source

Trabajo presentado a la VII European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS), celebrada en San Pe... more Trabajo presentado a la VII European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS), celebrada en San Petersburgo (Rusia) del 30 de junio al 5 de julio de 2019.

Research paper thumbnail of Old burned bones tell us about past cultures

Research paper thumbnail of Lead cores in Late Bronze Age palstaves revealed using neutron imaging at ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source

Lead cores in Late Bronze Age palstaves revealed using neutron imaging at ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el 5th International Conference Archaeometallurgy in Europe, ce... more Resumen del trabajo presentado en el 5th International Conference Archaeometallurgy in Europe, celebrado en Miskolc (Hungria), del 19 al 21 de junio de 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Probing Our Heritage with Neutrons—One Successful Story

Probing Our Heritage with Neutrons—One Successful Story

Neutron scattering applications and techniques, Dec 16, 2016

Probing our heritage reminds us of a variety of issues in Heritage Science: from the correct dete... more Probing our heritage reminds us of a variety of issues in Heritage Science: from the correct determination of historical and cultural time-frame of artefacts, to their location and method of production, to the choice of best treatments and environmental conditions for their restoration. A large variety of chemical, physical and microstructural techniques are employed by Museums and art experts to characterize objects of cultural significance. Most of these methods are invasive and probes like X-rays and charged particles have limited penetration power. Neutrons penetrate thick layers, depending on their energy, without substantial attenuation, a quality which makes them ideal to study and visualize the interior (bulk) properties of materials in a totally non-destructive and non-invasive way. The high sensitivity to specific light elements (e.g. H) is an additional special property of the neutron probe. Neutron techniques are increasingly used for the quantitative, non-invasive analysis of many aspects of cultural heritage preservation in a broad sense: museum collections, artefacts, books, manuscripts, musical instruments, archaeological findings.

Research paper thumbnail of At the origin of Neanderthals and modern humans - Cerebral complexity and encephalization

The increase of brain dimensions and complexity has characterized the evolution of the genus Homo... more The increase of brain dimensions and complexity has characterized the evolution of the genus Homo. According to the available fossil and genetic evidence, a crucial stage came before the divergence of Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo sapiens, during the Middle Pleistocene. We consider a specimen of about 400 ka, whose phenotype is at the roots of this divergence: Ceprano calvarium (Italy). Here, we show a derived cerebrovascular organization with a mosaic of modern human and primitive features characteristics. Computed microtomography shows vascular variation and ontogenetic defects associated with ventricular and lymphatic involvement while phylogenetic analyzes highlight a dysregulation of the Tet1 gene that shows an accelerated mutation rate between 1.2 Ma and 466 ka, in contrast with the expected neutral evolution of the human genome. These results shed light on the dynamics of cranio-cerebral growth during the encephalization process and on the cerebral vascular and lymphatic ...

Research paper thumbnail of SiO2 Nanoparticles as New Repairing Treatments toward the Pietraforte Sandstone in Florence Renaissance Buildings

Crystals

In this work, the consolidation efficiency of SiO2 nanoparticles (synthesized in the Chemistry la... more In this work, the consolidation efficiency of SiO2 nanoparticles (synthesized in the Chemistry laboratories at the Tor Vergata University of Roma) was tested on Pietraforte sandstone surfaces belonging to the bell tower of San Lorenzo (Florence, Italy) and was fully investigated. Nanoparticles (synthesized in large-scale mass production) have been characterized by XRD—X-Ray Diffraction; Raman and FTIR—Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy; SEM—Scanning Electron Microscopy; while the Pietraforte sandstone morphology was examined by Porosimetry, capillary absorption test, surface hardness test, drilling resistance and tensile strength. The colorimetric measurements were also performed to characterize the optical modification exhibited by Pietraforte sandstones, especially after the SiO2 treatments. Our results show that applying to the Pietraforte, the new consolidating agent based on SiO2 nanoparticles, has several advantages, as they are more resistant to perforation, wear, and ab...

Research paper thumbnail of Problemi di Fisica Generale

Problemi di Fisica Generale

Research paper thumbnail of Monte Carlo simulations of bi-parametric Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis for imaging of Cultural Heritage artefacts

Monte Carlo simulations of bi-parametric Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis for imaging of Cultural Heritage artefacts

Research paper thumbnail of A Photoneutron source at the Daϕne Beam Test Facility of the INFN National Laboratories in Frascati: design and first experimental results

Physics Procedia, 2012

A pulsed neutron source has been realized at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of the National Laborat... more A pulsed neutron source has been realized at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of the National Laboratory of Frascati, near Rome (Italy). Neutrons are produced sending high energy (510 MeV) electrons to impinge on an optimized Tungsten target. This kind of source produces neutrons with an energy spectrum that spans over more than 9 decades of energy (from few meV up to hundred of MeV), even if most of them have energy around 1 MeV. This source may be suitable for calibrating neutron sensitive devices with response in the MeV region, as well as it could be effectively used for material and nuclear science investigations. Neutron and photon rates and their spectra have been measured along well designed extraction lines, by using a Bonner Sphere Spectrometer (BSS). This works describes the experimental apparatus used to produce neutrons and the first experimental results: measured neutron and photon fluences are compared with Monte Carlo predictions performed with FLUKA and MCNPX, respectively.

Research paper thumbnail of Neutrons Unveil Secrets of Musical Instruments

Neutron scattering applications and techniques, Dec 16, 2016

Ancient musical instruments are complex objects constructed in the past with the aim of obtaining... more Ancient musical instruments are complex objects constructed in the past with the aim of obtaining the best sound quality. Construction parameters change during time according to the aesthetics of the historical period and required sonic/musical features. Musical instruments are mostly made of wood, metals and hide. Neutron based methods such as diffraction, radiography and tomography can be used to study musical instruments providing a link between different disciplines including nuclear physics, metallurgy, cultural heritage and acoustics.

Research paper thumbnail of Neutron Imaging and Learning Algorithms: New Perspectives in Cultural Heritage Applications

Journal of Imaging

Recently, learning algorithms such as Convolutional Neural Networks have been successfully applie... more Recently, learning algorithms such as Convolutional Neural Networks have been successfully applied in different stages of data processing from the acquisition to the data analysis in the imaging context. The aim of these algorithms is the dimensionality of data reduction and the computational effort, to find benchmarks and extract features, to improve the resolution, and reproducibility performances of the imaging data. Currently, no Neutron Imaging combined with learning algorithms was applied on cultural heritage domain, but future applications could help to solve challenges of this research field. Here, a review of pioneering works to exploit the use of Machine Learning and Deep Learning models applied to X-ray imaging and Neutron Imaging data processing is reported, spanning from biomedicine, microbiology, and materials science to give new perspectives on future cultural heritage applications.

Research paper thumbnail of X-ray computed tomography to study archaeological clay and wood artefacts at Lilybaeum

X-ray computed tomography to study archaeological clay and wood artefacts at Lilybaeum

The European Physical Journal Plus, 2021

Since 2018, a scientific research project, the “Lilybaeum Project”, is being carried out by a col... more Since 2018, a scientific research project, the “Lilybaeum Project”, is being carried out by a collaboration of physicists and archaeologists. The goal is to apply forefront analysis techniques to the investigation of archaeological artefacts, both in situ and in the laboratory. The first case study presented in this paper concerns the original investigation through X-ray computed tomography of a collection of objects from the Regional Archaeological Museum of Lilybaeum, in Marsala, Italy. In addition to a very significant collection of clay jars mostly from children’s graves of the ancient Lilybaeum necropolis, an unprecedented analysis of wooden planks belonging to the only existing wreck of a Punic Ship kept in the Museum is presented

Research paper thumbnail of Chemometric Tools to Point Out Benchmarks and Chromophores in Pigments through Spectroscopic Data Analyses

Molecules, 2021

Spectral preprocessing data and chemometric tools are analytical methods widely applied in severa... more Spectral preprocessing data and chemometric tools are analytical methods widely applied in several scientific contexts i.e., in archaeometric applications. A systematic classification of natural powdered pigments of organic and inorganic nature through Principal Component Analysis with a multi-instruments spectroscopic study is presented here. The methodology allows the access to elementary and molecular unique benchmarks to guide and speed up the identification of an unknown pigment and its recipe. This study is conducted on a set of 48 powdered pigments and tested on a real-case sample from the wall painting in S. Maria Delle Palate di Tusa (Messina, Italy). Four spectroscopic techniques (X-ray Fluorescence, Raman, Attenuated Total Reflectance and Total Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopies) and six different spectrometers are tested to evaluate the impact of different setups. The novelty of the work is to use a systematic approach on this initial dataset using the entire spectrosco...

Research paper thumbnail of Gamma background characterization on VESUVIO: before and after the moderator upgrade

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2018

The VESUVIO spectrometer at the ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source is a unique instrument which ... more The VESUVIO spectrometer at the ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source is a unique instrument which makes use of eV neutrons and inverted geometry, allowing deep inelastic neutron scattering experiments with high values of energy and wavevector transfers. The neutron detection techniques on the VESUVIO forward-scattering detector banks is based on (n,γ) conversion, therefore neutrons are indirectly detected and the signals produced by scattered neutrons, accordingly the photons, is recorded using gamma scintillators. The use of γ-sensitive detectors make γ-background one of the main limiting factors affecting the data quality and instrument sensitivity on VESUVIO. This work aims to assess how the sampleindependent gamma background has changed after the recent upgrades to the water moderator viewed by the instrument, which resulted in a twofold increase of the thermal neutron flux. Here we show that the gamma background is mainly influenced by the thermal neutron flux and that the recent upgrade results in a fivefold increase in the gamma background in the photon energy range 300 keV-3 MeV. We point out the possibility of providing a thermal-neutron filter along the incident beam in order to suppress this background source.

Research paper thumbnail of A neutron study of sealed pottery from the grave-goods of Kha and Merit

A neutron study of sealed pottery from the grave-goods of Kha and Merit

Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 2017

This work presents the first neutron characterization of artefacts from the grave-goods of Kha an... more This work presents the first neutron characterization of artefacts from the grave-goods of Kha and Merit, a unique cultural treasure of mankind and preserved at the Museo Egizio in Turin.

Research paper thumbnail of Virtual unrolling and deciphering of Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast tomography

Scientific Reports, 2016

A collection of more than 1800 carbonized papyri, discovered in the Roman ‘Villa dei Papiri’ at H... more A collection of more than 1800 carbonized papyri, discovered in the Roman ‘Villa dei Papiri’ at Herculaneum is the unique classical library survived from antiquity. These papyri were charred during 79 A.D. Vesuvius eruption, a circumstance which providentially preserved them until now. This magnificent collection contains an impressive amount of treatises by Greek philosophers and, especially, Philodemus of Gadara, an Epicurean thinker of 1st century BC. We read many portions of text hidden inside carbonized Herculaneum papyri using enhanced X-ray phase-contrast tomography non-destructive technique and a new set of numerical algorithms for ‘virtual-unrolling’. Our success lies in revealing the largest portion of Greek text ever detected so far inside unopened scrolls, with unprecedented spatial resolution and contrast, all without damaging these precious historical manuscripts. Parts of text have been decoded and the ‘voice’ of the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus is brought back ag...

Research paper thumbnail of Vibrational spectroscopy to study ancient Roman funerary practices at the “Hypogeum of the Garlands” (Italy)

Scientific Reports, 2022

The “Hypogeum of the Garlands” is a sepulchral site, recently found in Grottaferrata (Lazio, Ital... more The “Hypogeum of the Garlands” is a sepulchral site, recently found in Grottaferrata (Lazio, Italy), dating back to the first-second century AD. Two sarcophagi were discovered inside, hosting the human remains of Aebutia Quarta, a rich Roman woman, and her son Carvilius Gemellus. While the body of Carvilius is exceptionally well-preserved, following its embalming and perfect sealing of the sarcophagus, in the case of Aebutia only the bones were preserved because of the sarcophagus’s seal breaking down, although she was covered with perfectly preserved flower garlands. Embalming of the body was a rare ritual in the Imperial Roman times when corpses were more often cremated. The remains of Aebutia showed possible traces of heating. Burned bones from a third individual were discovered on the chamber’s floor and preliminary anthropological survey showed that this individual was a male of 40–50 years old. Here, a combination of spectroscopic techniques, including non-destructive inelasti...

Research paper thumbnail of Neutrons Matter – VII International Workshop on Electron-Volt Neutron Spectroscopy

Research paper thumbnail of Neutron Diffraction and (n, γ)-Based Techniques for Cultural Heritage

Neutron Diffraction and (n, γ)-Based Techniques for Cultural Heritage

Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials for Diagnostic, Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, 2019

Abstract Neutron techniques are successfully employed as investigation tools in the field of cult... more Abstract Neutron techniques are successfully employed as investigation tools in the field of cultural heritage. Thanks to their interaction processes with matter, neutrons are an effective noninvasive and nondestructive means for phase, internal morphology, elemental and isotopic characterization, and offer unique capabilities. Neutrons are a penetrating probe for bulk analysis of heavy elements such as metals, ceramics, and stones where object thickness can even be in the order of many centimeters. This chapter focuses on the application of neutron diffraction neutron activation analysis prompt gamma activation analysis, and neutron resonance capture analysis and their application in cultural heritage studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Neutrons Unveil Secrets of Musical Instruments

Neutron Methods for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 2016

Ancient musical instruments are complex objects constructed in the past with the aim of obtaining... more Ancient musical instruments are complex objects constructed in the past with the aim of obtaining the best sound quality. Construction parameters change during time according to the aesthetics of the historical period and required sonic/musical features. Musical instruments are mostly made of wood, metals and hide. Neutron based methods such as diffraction, radiography and tomography can be used to study musical instruments providing a link between different disciplines including nuclear physics, metallurgy, cultural heritage and acoustics.

Research paper thumbnail of Neutron tomography reveals lead cores in Late Bronze Age palstaves at ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source

Neutron tomography reveals lead cores in Late Bronze Age palstaves at ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source

Trabajo presentado a la VII European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS), celebrada en San Pe... more Trabajo presentado a la VII European Conference on Neutron Scattering (ECNS), celebrada en San Petersburgo (Rusia) del 30 de junio al 5 de julio de 2019.

Research paper thumbnail of Old burned bones tell us about past cultures

Research paper thumbnail of Lead cores in Late Bronze Age palstaves revealed using neutron imaging at ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source

Lead cores in Late Bronze Age palstaves revealed using neutron imaging at ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el 5th International Conference Archaeometallurgy in Europe, ce... more Resumen del trabajo presentado en el 5th International Conference Archaeometallurgy in Europe, celebrado en Miskolc (Hungria), del 19 al 21 de junio de 2019